


Here, Kitty Kitty

by soul_writerr



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Animagus, Cats, Crack Treated Seriously, Flirting, Humor, Kinda, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27030427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr
Summary: Rafael had come to a decision. Since the silver stray seemed friendly and tame, Rafael would take him in as a pet. They’d still be able to play around when he was in cat form, but in the safe environment of his apartment, where Rafael would be able to care for him the way he deserved.Or: Rafael takes in a stray, except the stray is also an Animagus.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 79
Collections: Barisi Creatures Bingo





	Here, Kitty Kitty

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of the first ideas I had but it took me forever to write it oop but when it finally happened I had fun! I hope you enjoy it as well <3

With one last push, Rafael jumped onto the rooftop and surveilled the area before sitting by the ledge. He looked up at the moon, trying to read the current time by its position. He was a little earlier than normal, but only because he was particularly excited. Because, tonight, he had a plan.

He rolled his head a little, feeling the weight of his collar around his neck. It was a welcomed presence, especially because he’d hung a little charm full of catnip in it. Rafael wanted to come across as friendly as possible, otherwise this wouldn’t work, and the catnip was a special addition.

Rafael had found this place by instinct once, following the heavy smell of raw meat. He didn’t particularly love  _ that  _ part of being an Animagus, the animalistic side that guided him blindly around unknown streets in search of food, but that particular night definitely paid off. 

Because it’d led him to find his favorite spot in town, and he met a stray cat that always seemed to find food and brought it there to share with him. Generally speaking, Rafael liked making friends with strays. They were unpretentious, non-judgmental, even if a little skittish. 

The silver stray had been the one with the meat that first night. Rafael guessed he’d snatched it from someone’s window, and felt his entire body arch up when he jumped on the roof and found light eyes staring at him in the darkness, food hanging from his mouth. 

They’d stared at each other for a couple tense seconds, then the silver cat grabbed a piece of the beef and shook it towards him, going back to eat in peace. Rafael had been suspicious at first - strays weren’t big on sharing -, but the smell took over his senses and he accepted it without questioning the other cat’s reasoning.

Despite having no manners and rolling around - or laying on his back with his legs open for all to see that he was, indeed, male -, he was a very elegant cat. His fur was a beautiful, shimmering grey, surprisingly well kept and clean. His legs were longer than they had any real need to be, and he strutted around the rooftop like he owned the place.

He seemed to enjoy Rafael’s presence a great deal, always greeting him and licking his fur in appreciation. Rafael didn’t love it, but a part of him did relish in the attention.

So Rafael, the human, had come to a decision. Since the stray seemed friendly and tame, Rafael would take him in as a pet. They’d still be able to play around when he was in cat form, but in the safe environment of his apartment, where Rafael would be able to care for him the way he deserved.

He looked around when he heard some shuffling, then the silver cat jumped on the roof with a whole  _ croissant  _ in his mouth. Rafael would have laughed if he could. 

Rafael meowed a greeting, and the silver cat replied with a purr that was on the side of too loud for the quietude of the dark night. He dropped the pastry beside Rafael and waited for him to take the first bite.

The silver cat always brought snacks. Rafael didn’t know how, but he often had a bag of something or other with him. Once he’d showed up with an entire slice of pie, dropped it in front of Rafael and stepped back. After a couple bites, Rafael looked up at him and waited, meowing until the other cat got the message and took a bite for himself.

The first couple times, he thought maybe he was a domestic cat sacking his owners’ pantry and sharing it with his stray friends - a Robin Hood kinda thing. But he had no collar, so Rafael guessed he was homeless. He  _ hoped _ , given what he was going to do tonight.

After a few bites, Rafael let the silver cat have some for himself. He took a step closer to Rafael, but instead of eating the pastry, he sniffed around Rafael’s collar and purred loudly, taking little bites of the charm and pulling at it. 

It was then that Rafael shifted back into human form. Much as he expected, the poor stray jumped back, scared, but then Rafael removed his collar and held it out for him. Slowly, looking a little unsure, the silver cat approached again, staring at Rafael with wide eyes and sniffing the air.

Once the cat was close enough to touch, Rafael pulled him into his lap and petted him the way he knew cats liked. The stray melted in his lap, purring louder and louder the more Rafael fussed over him. 

Rafael smiled down at his new pet, happy that his plan had worked.

* * *

Taking the stray home was easy, but once they got to his apartment and Rafael put the collar with catnip away, the silver cat seemed to gather his surroundings and started looking for a way out. 

Rafael made sure to close every window and possible exit. He guessed the stray wouldn’t be too happy about the confinement at first, but with a couple good meals and more pets, he hoped the cat would bond with him and settle in his new home.

Thankfully, the silver cat accepted the bowl of water Rafael offered him and drank happily.

“We’ll have to think of a name for you,” Rafael told him, scratching under his chin when the cat looked up at him. “How about Silver?”

The cat let out a loud meow, and Rafael chuckled.

“Guess not.”

Rafael picked the cat up and took him to the bedroom, showing him around. 

“Please, do not scratch my bed posts. This frame was very, very expensive,” he said. “Same goes for the dresser, okay?”

The cat let out a little cough that almost sounded like a chuckle. Rafael smiled at him. What a sweet kitten. 

Going into the bathroom, he set the cat on top of the counter and removed his shoes and socks. “I know you may not like to bathe, but you just came from the streets, so we might have to give that a try tomorrow.”

The cat perched himself at the edge of the counter, following Rafael’s every move. 

Rafael unbuckled his belt and opened the first button of his pants, pulling his shirt out from where it was tucked and then off completely. The cat let out a loud, panicked screech then, jumping off the counter and running out of the bathroom.

Rafael frowned as he looked out into the bedroom. The cat ran under the bed and stayed there. “Rude.”

He finished undressing and got into the shower. He always felt a little dirtier after a night running around in cat form, so he made sure to scrub off all the night air from his skin.

Once Rafael got out, a towel wrapped around his waist, he’d hoped the cat would be out of hiding. Which he was, lounging on the bed like he owned it, but as soon as he saw Rafael, he jumped off and hid again.

“What is wrong with you?,” Rafael asked, kneeling down to look at him. “Could you come out, please? I’m not sure it’s safe under there.”

The cat did come out from under the bed, but then he jumped on the mattress and buried half his body under the pillows, still hiding.

“You’re so weird,” Rafale muttered, then dropped his towel and got dressed.

The cat was still hiding when Rafael turned back to him, and shook his head in dismay. “I’m dressed, if that’s what you’re being weird about.”

As if he understood him, the cat pulled his face from under the pillow and meowed at him. His blue eyes sparkled with something, but before Rafael could try and decipher it, the air shifted and where once was a silver cat now sat a man. A very handsome, very naked man.

His hair was as silver as the cat’s fur had been, but his eyes were somehow even more expressive in human form.

“What the hell?,” Rafael gasped, startled.

“I know, I know,” the man raised both hands placatingly. He’d placed the pillow he’d been hiding under on his lap, but it didn’t really cover much. “This is weird, I know. I’m sorry.”

“You’re an Animagus too!,” Rafael scowled.

The man pulled an apologetic face. “I’m so sorry, I know I should have shifted at the first change I got, this is very inappropriate. But I just got my license, I’m still in the probation period.”

Rafael nodded in understanding. “And you’re not supposed to reveal yourself to anyone yet. 

“Exactly,” he sighed, looking so guilty Rafael almost felt sorry for him. “I’m really sorry, I was trying to run away but you locked every window.”

“I was trying to keep you from doing precisely that,” Rafael said with a wince. “I’m Rafael Barba.”

“Nice to meet you, Rafael. I’m Sonny Carisi. I’m sorry for being naked in your bed.”

Rafael couldn’t help but laugh lightly. “Well, I guess that’s my fault for kidnapping you.”

“I didn’t exactly put up any resistance,” Sonny smiled, blushing a pretty pink Rafael hadn’t seen in his cat form. “I was a little distracted.”

“I suppose finding out that your best cat friend is an Animagus might be a bit of a shock.”

Sonny ducked his head. “Yeah, it wasn’t really that.”

“Then what?”

“The first thought I had when you shifted was ‘wow, he’s  _ gorgeous’, _ ” he said sheepishly. “And then the catnip took care of the rest.”

Rafael smirked. “That doesn’t exactly dismiss the kidnapping situation.”

“I promise I won’t press any charges,” Sonny threw him a lopsided grin.

They stared at each other for a moment. Rafael couldn’t quite believe the fact that he had a very attractive man sitting naked in his bed, but the absurdity of the situation hit him then and he laughed softly. Sonny laughed, too, and Rafael guessed the reality of what happened had also dawned on him.

“May I offer you some sweatpants?,” Rafael offered, quickly accessing the length of the naked legs he could see. “They might be on the shorter side, but it’s probably better than covering yourself with a pillow.”

“Yeah, thank you,” Sonny’s blush deepened. “I guess I’ve embarrassed myself enough for tonight.”

Rafael opened the last drawer of his dresser and pulled out dark blues sweatpants with a matching sweatshirt. “You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said, handing Sonny the clothes. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Sonny stepped out a few minutes later, and the vision of a gorgeous man in his clothes standing right in front of him caused a wave of cognitive dissonance to run through Rafael. Everything about tonight was weird, but the way Rafael already felt so attracted to this man was by far the weirdest.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Rafael started, “if you’re not supposed to be out and about in your Animagus form yet, what were you doing on that roof?”

Sonny ducked his head again. He had a boyish grin on his face, which was almost contradictory to his otherwise embarrassed stance.

“I live in that building. I’d been practicing shifting in my apartment because I haven’t really gotten the hang of shifting and keeping my clothes  _ on,  _ as you saw,” he explained, cheeks turning pink again. “But then one night I was jumping around, just having some fun, and my downstairs neighbor put raw meat to defrost on their windowsill.” 

Rafael nodded. “And the rest is history.”

“Exactly.”

“That was the night we met, right?”

“Yeah, and I kept coming back because I thought you were a stray looking for food and I wanted to make sure to take something for you so you wouldn’t starve,” Sonny smiled. “I thought it was safe because it’s where I live. My neighbors just think I’ve got a sneaky cat.”

“Well, that  _ was  _ a good idea,” Rafael said with a smirk. “Until the kidnapping.”

Sonny chuckled. “I told you, I didn’t mind being kidnapped by you.”

“You know, that’s a very odd way of flirting.” 

“How’s this then,” Sonny started, stepping closer to Rafael with a feline swag that almost knocked the breath out of Rafael. “I cooked and baked most of those snacks I brought you myself. How about you come over tomorrow night and we can eat with proper cutlery and porcelain plates? Would that be a better way to flirt?”

“That does sound a lot more appealing than the dusty floor up on the roof. And the resulting kidnapping,” Rafael said, eyelids heavy. “It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably my last entry for this bingo BUT I'm already working on other things lmao let me know what you think!! MWAH


End file.
